Edward's POV

I tried finding Bella through someone else's mind throughout the rest of the lesson, but was unsuccessful. I had done this frequently back in Forks, but had had to find the mind of a good person, like Angela, as I couldn't deal with Mike Newton's lustfull or Jessica's jealous thoughts for very long. But no one was thinking about Bella at the moment, all were focused either on their current lesson, or on their own trivial human problems. I gave a sigh of relief as class finally ended, and focused on Alice's mind as she was trying to find out where Bella would spend her lunch break. "She'll sit outside the west exit with some friends. It'll be too sunny for us to go outside, though," Alice sighed, before we exited the classroom and walked, quicker than humans probably should be able to, down the hallway. I was longing to get a glimpse of her again. "You have started having visions of her again?" I asked, too caught up in the longing to see Bella, to be annoyed at Alice.

"A bit, but it's still hard tuning in on her after so long. A had one other vision yesterday, but that has been all," Alice sounded annoyed. She always hated not knowing everything the people close to her did, or considered doing. I wondered how many times in these past three years she had seen me going to Italy. Whenever I had really started going down that trail of thought, family members would be by my side, which I doubted was a coincidence.

We walked through the exit, and made it under a tree that provided enough shadow.

Further away at a table was my love, basking in the sunshine while smoking a cigarette.

She was sitting with her blond friend again, and two other males, one of whom was admiring Bella's beauty in the sun greatly.

"So, any big plans for the weekend?" asked the second boy.

"Well, I have a date," the blonde said. "And Bella has work, and is planning to do some assignments."

"Aaand, maybe go to a frat party tonight, if I have someone to go with?" Bella said, nudging the black haired boy in the ribs, and he began blushing. God, I wish that I hadn't made plans, the boy thought, before saying, "I actually can't tonight… I'm meeting with my studygroup."

A memory came to the surface of his mind, of him and my Bella stumbling back to his room after a particularly wild frat party. She just needed a place closer by, to sleep off the alcohol, before having to ride her motorbike home. But as we reached my room, and she sat down on my bed, I couldn't stop myself from kissing her. She was surprised at first, but soon responded quite eagerly, as I pushed her down on bed, and left sloppy, wet, kisses down her neck. One of the scars there felt almost… Cold? I went back to her mouth, as I started grinding my crotch into her center. "Bells- I- I really like you," I mumbled into her mouth, before she froze underneath me and slowly pulled her mouth away from mine.

"Cody, I…. I thought this was just going to be some non committal fun," Bella murmured looking away from my eyes. I nodded, feeling disappointed but not wanting to show it. I'd liked Bella for almost a year, and had just thought that she maybe wanted me too. Not that I would mind having a drunken one night stand with her, but I just also wanted more.

"Look, I obviously know that you don't 'date', but I thought that- we have become really close and I really care about you-" I said, before she interrupted me.

"It's nothing personal, Cody! You're a great guy, I just can't deal with the whole 'relationship' thing, yeah? And trust me, you wouldn't want me anyway-" This time I interrupted her saying, "Of course, I want you! I've liked you for so long-"

"That doesn't mean anything, you would still get tired of me! Really, I'm too much trouble, like damaged goods or something-" she said, in slurred speech.

"That's not true Bells! You're great, and not broken-" I yelled, feeling slightly angry.

"Cody, I really can't deal with this, right now!" she exclaimed, as tears started filling her eyes. She looked down, before taking a deep breath, and quietly saying, "Okay?I'm too drunk and tired to discuss what and why I am, the way I am. Please, just drop it?"

"Okay, Bells… I - I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"I know!" Bella said quickly, "Just... Let's just go to sleep, and forget about this entire thing."

If I had thought the first part of the memory was making me feel sick, It was nothing compared to this. She thought that she wasn't good enough in the long run? That she was too broken? Damaged goods? I wished I was able to rush to her side, and tell her how amazing she actually was. How she was all I'd ever wanted, and everything I hadn't known I needed.

"I can't either! I'm babysitting my little sister," the second boy laughed. "Why don't you just go by yourself?"

"Frat parties are just usually such sausage-fests! So, it's best having a loud mouthed friend to stand up for you, when some guy is getting too handsy," Bella said casually, smiling at her female friend. An image of a large boy, pushing Bella against a wall, his hand grabbing for her crotch, flashed in the blond girl's mind, before she sighed and said, "And normally I'm happy to help! But you also have to be better at doing those kinds of things for yourself… "

"I've gotten way better! If you think I'm bad now, you should have seen me in High Schoo-" Bella stopped abruptly, her eyes going wide. "Oh fuck, anthropology starts in two minutes!" she exclaimed, standing up swiftly, while packing her stuff.

"I can't be late again, or our professor will probably blow a fuse!"

She threw her bag over her shoulder, before racing inside and out of our field of visions.

"Damn, that's the class she has with me and Emmett," Jasper said, as we also started heading inside. "I don't know how to get around her seeing us… Have you seen how she'll react, Alice?"

"No, not yet! She technically hasn't 'decided' what to do yet, so I don't think I'll be able to see it, more than a few seconds ahead," Alice sighed. Jasper left us at that and sped towards his lesson, hoping to meet Emmett on the way there. Alice turned to me and said, "Go to your own music lesson, Edward. My next class is also in this building, so if something happens, I can be there quickly."

I hesitated, while looking longingly at the classroom I knew held my Bella. I found Emmett and Jaspers thoughts, as they were both focused on the back of the head of a small girl with long brown hair.

"Come on Edward!" Alice exclaimed, starting to push me towards the door. "I know that you can just watch her through someone else's mind! So there is no excuse to not go to your own class."

"Alright! You're right, I'll go!" I sighed exasperated, before exiting the building for social studies, and raced towards my own classroom, in the Art's building. I made it just in time, and took a seat at the far back, as far away from any other students as possible. I went searching for my brother's mind, however it was somewhat challenging given the distance to them, and all the other human minds in between us, but I was successful as their teacher was starting to take attendance. "Emmett Cullen?"

"Yup," Emmett boomed next to me. "Seems the cat's out of the bag, ey?" He whispered, grinning.

Bella noisily dropped her bag on the floor as her heart rate quickens.

A plethora of emotions from Bella smacked into me; disbelief, regret, hurt and wistfulness.

"Jasper Hale?" the teacher said, looking around, as I put my hand up.

This time Bella's heart momentarily stopped, as fear and pain surged out from her body.

She was so caught up in her feelings, that she didn't even notice the professor calling her name.

The blond friend, Amber, touched Bella's arm, and she violently flinched away from her, before getting a scolding from the professor. She turned her head down, as her feelings turned to confusion, betrayal, outrage and, last but definitely not least, anger!

I couldn't remember ever getting feelings of rage from Bella before. Annoyance sure, fear definitely, but not this primal rage that surges throughout the entire body. She was almost shaking with anger, and when the class ended she flung her bag over her shoulder, and practically ran out of there without so much as a glance in our direction.

"Fucking hell," Emmett said, staring at the door. "Even I could feel that!"

Bella knows we are here, and she isn't happy about it. I needed to talk to her, quickly! I bolted out the door, as soon as the teacher let us go, and sped towards the other building, where I ran into Jasper and Emmett. "Where is she?" I exclaimed, and swiftly walked towards the parking lot, when I saw the place in their minds.

"Alice ran after her! She is going to talk to Bella, before she drives away. But we don't want to all gang up on her," Jasper stated, sending calming waves my way, while walking beside me out of the exit. Emmett came from my other side putting a hand on my chest, effectively stopping me.

"Bella?" I heard Alice say gently, near where Bella had parked her motorcycle this morning.

And there was Bella, shaking slightly, a cigarette in her right hand and standing next to her bike .

"Yo-you shouldn't drive in that state, Bella… You could get hurt," Alice said softly. Bella turned slowly, and looked into Alice's face with tear filled eyes, and an expression of betrayal and hurt.

The sight of Bella looking so wounded, broke my heart into millions of pieces.

"And when have you ever cared about me getting hurt?!" she cried, as a single tear slipped down her tired face.

"Of course, I care abo-" Alice started, before Bella furiously interrupted her.

"Don't you fucking dare pretend like you care about me! I'm not the naive fool I once was!"

she yelled, shaking violently and lifted the trembling cigarette holding hand to her mouth. My brothers exchanged a glance, before grabbing my arms and holding me in place. Rage was an emotion, my family had never seen from Bella before, and even I hadn't seen it to this extent.

"We… we never thought you were a fool, nor naive… We only did what we thought would be the best, the safest, for you!" Alice cried, her thoughts begging Bella to understand.

She just scoffed, before exploding in anger, "Oh, really?! What was best for me?! So- so when I couldn't get out of bed for weeks, after you left, that was because you were only doing what was best for me?! When I couldn't eat, sleep, even fucking function as a normal human being, that was for me? When Laurent held me down in the forest, smelling me, feeling me up, that was the best for me?! Or-or when Victoria broke my arm, cracked my skull and fucking drank from my neck, that was for my own safety," Bella roared, as tears fell from her face. Me, and my siblings were all frozen in shock. Laurent? Victoria?! They had come for her?! Why? How?!

Bella threw her smoke on the ground, and stepped onto her bike.

"So don't you dare say that you did that for me, for my safety," she cried, before speeding out of the parking lot, and away from us.

Everything I had done, the miserable existence I had lived these last few years, had been for nothing… She wasn't happy as I thought she would be without us, she was severely hurting! And even worse than that, she had been attacked by Laurent and Victoria, and without us being able to help her. How had she survived that?!

"Edward," Alice said carefully. I looked up to find myself surrounded by my siblings, even Rosalie was standing close by.

"How are you, brother?" Em said, dropping his hand from my chest.

"I- I don't ev- I thought that- she'd be-," I stammered, not being able to make an articulate sentence.

"Yeah, we get it, Ed," Jasper said quietly. "That was way worse than what we had pictured too." My siblings slowly guided me towards the BMW, and pushed me into the middle backseat, between Jasper who was regulating my emotions and Alice who was rubbing my back soothingly. I shouldn't be the one for them to comfort! They should be helping Bella, who has been through so much, who had looked so betrayed and broken as she drove off. She must think that we purposely left her for dead. That we didn't care if she was hurt or killed after we left…

"Al-Alice?" I stammered. "You didn't see Laurent and Vic-"

"Of course not! You told me not to look," she cried, looking terribly guilty. "But, I thought if something really bad happened, that I would see it, even if I wasn't looking!"

"How do you think she got away with her life intact?" Emmett wondered. "Could they have just let her go, after they had their fun? It sounds like she was hurt pretty badly, including what sounds like Laurent molesting her."

I flinched violently, and felt like I was falling to pieces. This was, way worse, than whatever I could have imagined an unattended Bella coming across.

"Smooth, Emmett," Rosalie huffed, as she hit him on the arm.

"Oh… Sorry bro," Emmett said over his shoulder, as he turned into our driveway. As usual the driveway to our house was long, and with no other houses in sight. We soon pulled up into the garage, and I could hear Carlisle and Esme's worried thoughts coming from the living room. Rosalie had apparently sent them a quick text, but hadn't told them the specifics of what had happened. I didn't know how to face my parents… How to tell them what had happened to Bella in our absence. What I had caused by leaving her completely alone.

Alice was pulling me out of the car, and then pushing me towards the living room. Lately, I often felt that my family had become more like carers. They were always watching over me, never leaving me alone for long, making sure my most basic needs were met… I really was pathetic.

"So, Edward found out about Bella?" Esme said carefully, as we entered the living room. She took my hand from Alice and led me towards the couch, before embracing me.

"Yeah, he saw her this morning in the parking lot. She called me an asshole, after I almost drove into her, on her motorbike," Emmett chuckled at first, before becoming more serious. "The issue arose, when Bella heard me and Jazz's names being called, in our anthropology class…"

"She was upset… Shaken," Alice said quietly. "I have been trying to get a clearer view on Bella these last couple of days, so I was keeping an eye on her. I saw her speeding down the highway, driving quite recklessly, I must add. So I wanted to talk to her before she drove home, and hopefully calm her a bit down. Now, I'm afraid that I only made it worse…"

"That's an understatement. The girl exploded in rage! I don't think I've ever seen her yell before," Rosalie mused with a sliver of respect in her voice. A shocked Carlisle asked,

"Well, what did she say to you?" while looking between me and Alice.

"She'd… She'd had an encounter… With Victoria and Laurent," I whispered, looking down into the floor, my mind only focusing on how wounded Bella had looked, when yelling at Alice.

"Victoria? Why would she contact Bella?" Esme blurted out, sounding confused. "And what did Laurent want from Bella? He left James and Victoria's coven the night they decided to hunt her. He was living with Tanya's family for almost a year before he suddenly vanished."

"They didn't just contact her," Jasper sighed. "They attacked her, and quite cruelly it seems. Victoria is the one who bit Bella and drank from her neck."

"Drank from her?" Carlisle exclaimed. "But they didn't 'finish' her, so to speak? They let her go?"

"We, unfortunately, don't know any details. She left after dropping the bomb about Victoria," Emmett explained.

"Oh, poor sweet Bella," Esme cried tearlessly. I bowed my head further down, thinking about how much Bella had endured, after I had promised myself to leave, and therefore never hurt her again. Esme stroked my back in small circles as Carlisle asked, "How are you, son? It isn't easy for any of us hearing how Bella has suffered, but least of all you."

"I'm just… Stunned? I feel like such a fool. I left so I wouldn't accidentally hurt her again, but I just inadvertently made it way worse for her… Her being assaulted by vampires, simply because of her relation to us? And to endure it all alone, with no one to ask for help, nor simply just someone to talk to about it… How naive have I been, to think that just by leaving her behind, I was shielding her from the darkness of our world… I've only made it all worse… I've ruined her life," I sobbed, putting my hands over my face. I knew my family would look at me with even more pity than usual. I couldn't deal with that right now.

"So what are you going to do now?!" Rosalie said loudly, staring me down as I slowly looked up. "Are you going to stop feeling sorry for yourself, and stop bitching about what you should or shouldn't have done, and take some goddamn responsibility? Actually figure out how to move on from this, instead of dwelling on what can't be undone?!"

As we glared at each other, I couldn't help but be reminded of the newborn vampire Rosalie had once been… So angry and distressed about how her young life was cut short, in the most brutal way possible. Still so bitter, even after having killed the men, who was the cause of it all. How only Esme was allowed to touch her for so long… I'd had my doubts whether she would ever be able to be in a healthy relationship, even with Emmett always being so caring and affectionate to her. But they made it… Despite Rose's trauma and pain, and everything else. I usually saw my sister as pigheaded, but now I was wondering if she wasn't the strongest of us all.

Esme had started scolding her, for being so harsh towards me when I was already hurting, but I put a hand over Esme's, stopping her mid sentence.

"She's right," I sighed. My family, including Rose, all turned to me stunned, as no one could remember us ever agreeing on anything.

"I can't just keep feeling guilty and bitter about what was done years ago… I need to find out what I can do about it in the present! How I can help Bella now, when I wasn't able to before…"

Esme softly stroked my cheek, giving me a smile through her tearless crying. Carlisle was looking at me with an almost proud glance in his eyes.

"How is Bella?" I asked Alice. "This had definitely been harder on her, than on us."

Alice closed her eyes, searching for a more recent vision of Bella, as the sky slowly grew dark outside of our living room.

"She seems to have at least made it home on that motorbike in one piece. She's at some sort of a gathering, or party. She looks pretty intoxicated and-" Alice gasped, standing up as quickly as I did, both left speechless. Because we had both seen it. A young man slipping a pill into a red plastic cup, before handing the drink to an oblivious looking Bella.